Coils, particularly heavy sheet metal coils, have been transported on flat bed trailers for many years and more recently on low boy or drop deck trailers where the trailer bed is lowered towards the ground between the front and rear. wheel locations.
Heretofore, the coils have been secured to the top of the trailer bed or floor by chains or straps or the like in combination with blocking devices to keep them from rolling or sliding. Examples of various ways by which sheet metal coils have heretofore been secured to the top of the trailer bed are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,829,148; 4,106,735; and 4,474,359, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Heretofore, it has also been known to provide a protective covering over coils being transported by railroad cars or flat bed trailers to shield the coils from damage and contamination and to inhibit the formation of rust and the like. Examples of pivotable clam shell like covers used for covering coils are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,125,056; 1,934,929; 2,728,115; 2,851,964; 3,009,426; 3,503,341; and 4,402,544, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
None of the covers however, have been used to protect coils secured in a trough of support members that engage a peripheral portion of each coil below the bed plane of the trailer transporting the coils as a means of lowering the center of gravity of coils being transported by trailers while enhancing securement of the coils to the trailer.